Harold and Maude

            Just get pass the first twenty minutes and it is an enjoyable movie. The beginning and throughout the movie has dark humor. At first I did not know if I was suppose to laugh at some of the jokes about Harold’s attempts of suicide. His mother showed no interest in his actions and asks him, “I suppose you think that is very funny, Harold.” It felt uneasy to laugh until Maude entered the picture. Maude is an interesting character that lives every day as her last. Although, I still do not see why she killed herself. But when Maude came into the picture she seemed to brighten everything up. It was no longer a dark and uncomfortable but lively.

            As the mood lifted in the humor became enjoyable. It did not seem so dark as it was in the first twenty minutes. Harold’s mom setting him up on blind dates was probably my favorite scenes to watch. But even then laughing seemed rude and after I laughed I felt like it was wrong to laugh. The humor is completely different from previous movies we have viewed but it works.  If it had no humor at all, it would have been difficult to watch. I am surprised that I actually did enjoy the movie.

           

            

Young Frankenstein

            Well after years of my friends telling me to watch this movie I finally did. I am familiar with the story of Frankenstein, like the majority of people are. So I was expecting dark humor and to my surprise it was the opposite.

            I am not sure how to describe the humor. It seemed natural and effortless. Like if you had a conversation with someone and they make a funny remark about a subject. The humor was funny without trying too hard. At parts it was exaggerated like when Frau Blücher was playing the violin and replying “yes!” to Dr. Frankenstein as he was figuring out who was playing the violin earlier. It was also unexpected humor. Like when Igor said, “Wait Master, it might be dangerous... you go first. “ When someone says it might be dangerous you assume they are going to take the lead and enter first, but not Igor.

            The theme of identity returns once again. Dr. Frankenstein does not want to be associated with his late grandfather. He changes the pronunciation of his name to try to distance himself from the work of his grandfather. Changing the pronunciation of his name does not mean he can escape being a Frankenstein, since it is in his blood.  Overall, a well done movie.

           

           

                       

Idiocracy

            The title explains the whole movie. Joe Bauers, the symbol for the average American, is satisfied with how his life is. Not doing much but just coasting by at his job, which is just sitting at a desk. He gets ordered to participate in a top-secret government program that freezes people for hibernation. Rita, another character, is also a participant in this experiment. The experiment starts but quickly fails and instead of being frozen for a year, it turns into 500 years.

            During Joe and Rita’s slumber, people are not increasing intellectually, but decreasing in intelligence. So the future is full of unintelligible people. Due to the unintelligent people reproducing the most and creating more unintelligent offspring. Not the ideal future we would want. Not only criticizing the unintelligent people but the government as well.

            Seeing the opposite of what we have been told about the future, this movie does make you wonder what if. I do not think many people think the future will be completely full of idiots, which is what adds to the humor of this movie. An unexpected outcome that is to ridiculous to be taken seriously.

                        

The gods must be crazy

            I found this movie hard for me to watch because it was just boring. It just seemed all over the place. The humor is mixed with slapstick and intellectual humor. This is probably why so may of the reviews said there is humor for everyone.

            With the mix of humor it really set the pace of the movie. During the slapstick humor like when the scientist is driving his jeep with no brakes, then has the conflict of opening and closing gates while his jeep is running moved forward or roles backward. At first, this scene seemed to go by fast since it was amusing to watch how he had to jump off his jeep to open the gate, let it role by, quickly close the gate then run to jump into it. Or place a rock behind the tire to keep it from rolling down hill. But it just got annoying and boring as it kept happening over and over. It felt like someone was saying, “wait I have more so please stay and watch”. Some things are only funny once and when you constantly repeat it hoping to get another laugh it looses it touch. Also his awkwardness towards the teacher, at first it was funny, but soon lost its touch. The humor is gone and time to move on.

            The intellectual humor for me was more enjoyable than the slapstick humor. Although I really liked Modern Times slapstick humor, the humor in this movie was just not that great. The mixed use of humor to me either sped up the scene or slowed it down. Which made it difficult to keep my attention on the movie. I honestly do not remember most of the scenes. Humor can be presented in different ways, I just think this movie could have presented it better then it did. 

The Importance of Being Earnest

            I really was not interested in watching this film but it was not that bad.  The humor was different from the previous films we have seen in class.  It was more witty and fast paced.  Marriage during this time seemed to be important and is a constant reminder through out. There were two points of view on marriage. One that it is just business and the other it is for pleasure.

            Jack (Earnest) is in love with Gwendolen and wants to marry her. Jack’s love for her is not business at all. We can clearly see this through out as both he and Gwendolen express their feeling for one another. Jack serenades her when she and his ward Cecily find out about Jack and Algernon double life. Gwendolen loves Jack who she knows by the name of Earnest, that she gets a tattoo of his name. An impulsive decision based on love for her Earnest, which I though was a bit extreme for someone to do. Both Jack and Gwendolen show that marriage does not have to be about business but can be full of love. Which I assume is what most people who get married want in their marriage. But Gwendolyn’s mother, Lady Bracknell sees marriage as business.

            Lady Bracknell is an upper class woman who only wants a suitable son in law based on her criteria’s. She questions Jack about his finances, political stance, where he lives, and who his parents are. He was answering her questions to her liking till Jack reviled he does not know who his parents are. He was found in a handbag at a railway station. After hearing this Lady Bracknell dismisses Jack and does not want him to bother Gwendolen about marriage, unless he can find out who his parents are.  Sounds like a business deal.

            Even though everything worked out for all the characters, this film brings up the question about marriage. How does the audience view marriage? We see two views of marriage, which we either agree or disagree with. Overall, this was an enjoyable film.  

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter

            Not really the kind of film I watch and wasn’t one that made me laugh like “Modern Times. It kind of felt to serious with the jokes, but overall a well-done film. Rock Hunter wants success and to be like the president of the company he works for. His point of view of the president is he has it all. His own restroom, huge office, and of course money. That is the success he wanted and got but was thrown into a different kind of success, overnight success.

            In this film we are watching to see if this sudden change into the spotlight will go to Hunter’s head. There was a lot of critical humor in this film about Hollywood. This type of humor can be funny or offensive to people, but the way this film presented it was humorous. The humor towards Hollywood was probably what most people think about it. That it is a glamorous life and the people living it are too pampered to know anything and don’t have to do anything. When Rita Marlowe is getting on a plane to go into seclusion with her dog and secretary, she is clueless about what she is doing and what the word seclusion means. Also, that when your in Hollywood you don’t have to do anything. When Marlowe and Hunter were in the car driving to the courthouse, she explains that the publicity is good for her since her acting is not that good. Even with little to show for Marlowe is famous and her success spoiled her.

            Being thrown into Hollywood and being a big hit all over is a success. “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” I think is referring to the overnight success of becoming Marlowe’s lover boy, will that success spoil him. It did not because that was not the success he was after. He kept saying this was all for the endorsement for his company. His main focus was his work and being a success there, which is why I think that the Hollywood success did not spoil him.

           

            

Modern Times

            I have not seen a silent film since I was a kid and I loved it.  Modern Times is a film I knew nothing about even though I knew who Charlie Chaplin was. This film was an enjoyable way to end the first week of school. I really liked the humor this film presented. What made me laugh were the facial expressions of the characters and how they present their humor. One scene that became my favorite was the part when he was released from the hospital. As he walks around trying to avoid excitement, he notices a flag falls off the back of a truck in the middle of the street. He runs over picks up the flag and tries to wave the truck down. At that same moment a protest comes around the corner. He is unaware of the people that are coming up behind him as he continues to wave the flag around to get the drivers attention. The driver does not stop so he now marches down the street to do his best to return the flag. Now Chaplin unknowingly becomes the leader of the protest and continues to shout to try to get the drivers attention. A few second later, the police come and everyone scatters.  This was so funny to me and I could not stop laughing at this part. What made this funny for me was the character Chaplin played was unaware of the people behind him. He was just trying to return a flag and very serious about returning the flag. It is a simple kind of humor that this film presents. With that simple humor there really is no need for words.  We all need to smile or laugh especially when times are hard. During the 1930 The Great Depression filled people with troubled heartache. People were unemployed and most likely stressed. In class we have been discussing humor. Humor can relieve stress, bring a smile to our face, and lift our mood. People during the 1930’s needed to laugh. The film Modern Times clearly shows men working in factories, getting laid off, unemployment, and people struggling to survive. They needed a reason to smile and a reason to forget about the Great Depression or whatever situation they may have been in. When you watch a movie it is so that you can be entertained. This film I think helped relieve that stress and made the audience of the 1930’s laugh as well as future audiences. Charlie Chaplin starred in, wrote, directed, and scored the music for this film. A lot for one person and he did a great job putting this film together to put a smile on someone’s face.